


Nom de Guerre

by ThunderTeru (AteruMorkov)



Category: NU'EST
Genre: Gen, M/M, University AU, honestly idk, job au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:19:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28169892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AteruMorkov/pseuds/ThunderTeru
Summary: Minhyun feels some one-sided rivalry with Baekho, a celebrity which he actually knows nothing about.
Relationships: Hwang Minhyun/Kang Dongho | Baekho
Comments: 3
Kudos: 21
Collections: N.S.S. 2020





	Nom de Guerre

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nuesteens](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nuesteens/gifts).



_"Ahh~ His voice is really refreshing!"_

_"Kyaa! That oppa is really handsome!"_  
  
_"His study and work ethic are both excellent."_

  
  
Those kinds of words are the ones I love hearing the most.   
  
Friends, teachers, family; it doesn't matter. I like to hear them all! 

  
  
You must be wondering: _'Who is this breezy &$@% that thinks so highly of himself? Instead of falling in love, I'm falling in despair!!'_

Tsk tsk. 

  
  
First: Who are you and why are you reading my diary??  
  
(Only hypothetically, of course. I always make sure to hide this in a place nobody will ever find.) 

  
  
Second: Please allow me to introduce myself.

My name is Hwang Minhyun. I'm an 18 year-old university student currently working part-time as an editor for a magazine publishing house. 

My dream is to become a professional singer, or a dancer, or an actor, or a model... actually, all of the above! That's why I'm aiming to qualify for a prestigious school of arts; either by scholarship, or by tuition fee. You shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket, after all! 

  
  
You can say my life is going pretty smoothly. It's rather great, in fact.

  
  
Except... there's just one small thorn in my side. 

Tiny. Microscopic. Lilliputian(I learned that word in literature class. It sounds cool, right?)

  
  
Baekho.

That name.

Pisses. Me. _Off!_

  
Sometimes at work, I hear _"Baekho was cool today"_ or _"Baekho's bodyline!!"_ or _"Baekho's manners are great"_.

(It's not like I refuse to work on the magazines he's featured in or anything, my shift just never coincides with his schedules!!)

Or everyday in school, it's _"Kyaa Baekho!!"_ or _"OHMYGOSHBAEKHO"_ or just plain _"BAEKHOOOOO"_. My classmates suddenly become speechless!

(I'm not mad he's getting their attention or anything, I'm just worried about how they're going to focus on their studies!!!)

What does he even do? Is he a singer? Dancer? Actor? Model? All of the above?? 

(It's not like I intentionally don't look it up on the internet because I don't want to see him or anything, it's just not as important as what I'm currently doing!!!)

  
  
His name puts me in such a bad mood that writing about him fires me up!!

* * *

Only the sound of Minhyun's angry scribbling can be heard through the library, the rest of its occupants having long gone to prepare for the weekends.  
  
This is his daily routine; acting like the perfect ‘oppa’ characters in school dramas in front of everyone, then sequestering himself to a quiet corner in the school library to aggressively complain in his diary at the end of the day, oblivious to anything that happens around him.

  
  
A few hours pass and the library door gently squeaks open. A man peeks in.  
  
"Hello?" the man asks quietly into the room. He looks left and right, not immediately noticing anyone inside. "I'm coming in~". 

  
  
He picked a seat and pulled out a stack of papers out of his bag.   
  
"There's so much material I have to catch up with..." He sighs. "Do I have to do all of this?" Another sigh. "...ahhh, complaining won't get me anywhere, so I might as well get to it."

  
  
Not twenty minutes pass by when suddenly, a loud thud sounds out, followed by a pained groan.  
  
The noise shocks Minhyun out of his writing and he immediately goes to check on its origins.  
  
It didn't take him long when he saw some papers scattered all over the ground, and a person just slightly off to the side.

"Ow..." the person whimpered, curling into himself.

Engaging 'dependable oppa'-mode, Minhyun approaches the ball-shaped human and reaches down. "Are you alright?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm okay..." The person shifts before straightening out into a more comfortable position.

He checks the man's body for any injuries, which was quite the task, since the man was wearing a hoodie that was at least 3 sizes bigger than his actual size.

"Can you stand up? Do you need help getting to the nurse's office?" Minhyun offers.  
  
"No, I'm alright." The man stands up. "I don't have to go to the nurse. Sorry for bothering you...?" 

They stare at each other for a while before Minhyun realizes the man was waiting for him to introduce himself.

"Minhyun. Hwang Minhyun." He reaches out his hand for a handshake, feeling cool for saying it like he was James Bond.

The man returns the handshake. He then looks up, but doesn't say his own name.

Instead, he says "Whoa, you're handsome!", his face doing what looks to be an impression of a cute shocked bunny, big round eyes and front teeth and everything.   
  
Minhyun was slightly floored. Not only was the guy adorable, he also gave him a compliment.

After a pause, Minhyun replied "Thank you. You're not bad looking yourself...?"  
  
The man finally realizes that he, in fact, has not introduced himself. After a flustered chuckle, he says "Kang Dongho. It's nice to meet you, Minhyun!"

And then he smiled.   
  
To say Minhyun was dazzled was an understatement.

  
  
_'What kind of smile is shaped like a heart? What sort of eyes twinkle and then turn to crescents???'_

Minhyun, schooling his expression, lets go of Dongho's hand to pick up the papers on the floor. Dongho quickly follows and they finish cleaning up in just a few minutes. 

"Thanks for helping me out." Dongho says once he's settled back down on the chair he was originally sitting on.   
  
Minhyun takes the seat next to Dongho's. "You're welcome. Why were you on the floor anyway?"   
  
An embarrassed look passes Dongho's face and he admits, "I kind of fell asleep reading through the study materials, and…"  
  
He didn't need to finish his sentence for Minhyun to fill in the rest of the details. _'He fell asleep and fell off the chair.'_ He pats Dongho's shoulder in sympathy.

Dongho looks at the clock, noting thing time. "Actually, I should be going to work. I'll just catch up on these some other time." He starts shoving the papers back into his bag.  
  
With the topic of work brought up, Minhyun remembered that he, too, had to go to work.   
  
"Oh, I guess we'll see each other tomorrow." Minhyun stood up, already prepared to leave. "Would you like me to help you study?" He offers Dongho.   
  
Dongho looks up at him gratefully. "I'd love that! But wait..." He puts his hand thoughtfully under his chin and continues, "...hmmm, since it’s a weekend tomorrow, should we do it outside? What about the '315 Cafe'?"  
  
_‘Like a date? No way am I saying no to THAT face!’_ Minhyun turns around before he can get stunned by Dongho's smile again. “Sure, see you tomorrow! See you at 9am! bye!”

He quickly strides out of the library, heading straight to the publishing house, not noticing Dongho following right behind him. 

* * *

  
  
Minhyun cursed his luck.

As soon as he got to work, he finds out the one man he doesn't want to even _perceive_ , Baekho, is having a pictorial in the building.

He immediately made a bee-line for the break room to hide(and maybe snatch a few snacks out of the cabinets). _'Maybe they'll forget I'm here if they don't see me.'_

The first thing that hit him when he got there was the smell of coffee.

The second was the fact that a pretty man with very wide shoulders was sipping on said coffee and nibbling on some cookies.

The third was the white tiger tattoo the man had on his right arm.

_'No way…!'_

Standing right in front of him was _Baekho._

Before Minhyun can turn around to escape, they make eye-contact.   
  
_'His gaze is too intense! His eyes are so brown, and his face is so small, and his body looks so good in that t-shirt…!'_

Minhyun just stood there, dumbstruck.

  
  
Baekho stares at him wordlessly when, like a switch was flipped, his gaze turned from _'sharp and strong'_ to _'round and soft'._  
  
"Minhyun!" he exclaimed with a smile. 

  
  
_'What?'_ Minhyun blinks once. _'How does he know my name??'_ Minhyun panics before he gets a sudden epiphany. 

  
  
_'Brown twinkling eyes, heart shaped smile…it can't be...!'_ "Dongho?"  
  
"Yup! Well, I guess it's Baekho right now since I'm at work." Dongho(Baekho) says, sheepishly taking a bite off a biscuit.

  
  
_‘How is this real? The guy I curse in my head is actually the cutie I met in the library?? And we study in the same school??? Ah, Hwang Minhyun, you are a fool! I finally understand why my classmates and co-workers are nuts for him! He's just WOW!! I'm absolutely speechless!!! And I’m about to go on a study date with him tomorrow!!!! This must be some form of early Christmas miracle.'_ Minhyun continues staring like a deer caught in headlights, his mind still not quite processing Dongho is the same person as Baekho.

  
  
“Minhyun? Are you okay?" Dongho asks him in concern. "Hey." He grab's Minhyuns shoulder and shakes him lightly, which finally seems to snap Minhyun out of his daze.  
  
"Oh? Uh, yeah. Um. I gotta go! See you later!" Minhyun rushes out of the door, heading straight for the Editor-in-Chief's office.

  
  
"What just happened??" Dongho asks the air, dumbfounded.

  


* * *

  
  
Minhyun practically kicks the door to the Chief's office, startling the poor man half off his swivel chair.

  
  
"Hwang? What's all the rush--" he gets cut off before he could finish his question.  
  
"PLEASE ASSIGN ME TO BAEKHO'S CURRENT PICTORIAL! ANY ROLE WILL DO, PLEASE!" Minhyun uncharacteristically pleads. "You don't even have to pay me!! I'll do it!!! _I JUST HAVE TO SEE HIM!!!"_

  
  
The Editor-in-Chief rubs his temples and sighs. _'Why does this happen everytime Baekho-ssi is here?'_ He heaved a heavy sigh.

 _'T_ _his is the 4th time today someone has barged into my office to ask exactly the same thing...but for_ Hwang Minhyun _, of all people,_ _t_ _o ask...Well, I guess it won't hurt to grant this request.'_

  
  
He finally cleared out his throat and said "Well, since this is the first time you've actually asked for something like this, I suppose I can let you in as--"

"THANK YOU, SIR! THANK YOU!!" Minhyun leaves the room as fast as he entered it.

  
  
"...What just happened???" The Editor-in-Chief asks the air, dumbfounded.

**_END_ **

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this slightly crack-ish BaekMin fic(can this even be considered BaekMin?)


End file.
